


Bedtime Stories

by LinnyBear



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Family, Fluff, Gen, Mother-Daughter Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-29
Updated: 2013-11-29
Packaged: 2018-01-03 00:02:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1063271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LinnyBear/pseuds/LinnyBear
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Toph is having trouble sleeping, and Lin has the perfect solution. Drabble.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bedtime Stories

It was going to be another one of those painfully long nights. Toph could already tell. The Yukone case had spiraled from booking some lowlife mobster to tracking down a possible serial torturer. Each week it seemed her detectives turned up new anonymous tips and eyewitness accounts of exactly how disgusting a man this Yukone was.

Toph hated what it was adding up to.

She’d slipped out of bed when she realized she wouldn’t be sleeping, grateful she’d managed not to wake Sokka in the process. She was happy for once that the man could sleep through an earthquake. She really didn’t want any company right now, other than her bottle of aged scotch. No one would notice her up _again._ And she preferred that.

She should have taken into account the other earthbender in her house.

“Mommy?” She heard the sleepy drawl of her daughter from behind her.

“Go back to bed, Squirt.” She said almost automatically, setting her newly-poured glass down. “It’s okay.”

“But Mommy,” She could tell the seven year old was dragging her stuffed badgermole with her, and was rubbing one eye sleepily. “Why’re you awake?”

She let out a long sigh, suppressing her immediate desire to just tell Lin to do what she said. She hadn’t done anything wrong. And there was nothing wrong with giving her some sort of explanation at least. “I just can’t sleep. And I don’t want to wake Sokka.” She’d leave out the psychopath part at least.

Lin seemed to take that as a good enough reason, and had turned and bounded out of the room. Toph let her head fall back against the couch again, reaching for her glass again. No sooner had she taken another sip, than Lin was back in the room, throwing her badgermole ahead of her as she scrambled up on the couch.

“Squirt, I though I told you to go to bed.”

“I know you did, Mommy.” Lin said, placing something hard and rectangular in Toph’s lap. It felt like a book. “But you said you couldn’t sleep. So I brought you this.”

“Kid, I can’t read this-”

“I know, I’m not stupid. I’m gonna read it to you.”

Toph blinked. “Why?” She asked lamely.

“Whenever I can’t sleep, Sokka reads to me. And you said you can’t sleep so I wanted to help you.”

Toph couldn’t help the small smile that tugged at her lips, or the soft chuckle as she spoke. “Alright, Squirt. Go ahead and read to me.”

And as riveting as _The Tales of Shin Ming_ were, Sokka still woke to find mother and daughter curled up under a blanket on the couch, fast asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This was posted on my old Lin RP blog, hardboiledbeifong (I'm currently chiefironwall) on tumblr. It was inspired by a headcanon submitted by an anon whose identity I still don't know.


End file.
